U.S. Planning Special Ops Drills Across Baltics

The U.S. will begin a series of military exercises with elite special operations forces in the Baltic states, a new element in ongoing efforts to reassure American allies that the U.S. will defend them in the face of renewed Russian aggression.

Operation Spring Storm, the first of three exercises scheduled this month, will take place in Estonia. The two-week exercise will be followed by others in Latvia and Lithuania, officials said.

The annual exercises were planned earlier but have taken on a higher profile and new importance as tensions have continued between Russia and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization over Ukraine.

Separately, the U.S. on Thursday expressed concern over the impending sale by France of a pair of warships to Russia. The ships are to be delivered later this year under the previously agreed deal, lawmakers said at a House hearing. “We have regularly and consistently expressed our concerns about this sale even before we had the latest Russian actions, and we will continue to do so,” testified Victoria Nuland, assistant secretary of State for European and Eurasian affairs.

Addressing the upcoming special operations exercises, Col. Steven Warren, a top Pentagon spokesman, said they “send a clear signal to both our partners and our allies in the region that we are committed to security and stability in the area.”

The exercises will be followed by some additional training by small teams of U.S. special operation forces in the Baltic states and other Eastern European countries, Col. Warren said.

The exercises will coincide with the ongoing deployment of small units from the 173rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team to Poland and the Baltic States.

The U.S. has stepped up exercises with NATO members as Russia has stationed large number of troops on the Ukraine border. This week Russian President Vladimir Putin said he would begin to withdraw some of those troops and the Russian defense ministry said that Moscow has withdrawn troops.

But Col. Warren said Thursday the U.S. had seen no movement of troops away from the border.

“We have seen no change in the Russian force posture on the Ukrainian border,” Col. Warren said.

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